Increasing interest in high power integrated circuit (IC) applications has led to commercialization of various types of high power IC devices. In general, these IC devices comprise a multi-chip module (MCM) package which includes a plurality of ICs, such as a high power IC and a separate controller IC. In general, these MCM packages include connections for conveying high voltage and/or high current (collectively “high power”) signals interspersed between the connections for conveying low voltage and current (collectively “low power”) signals. Typically, the pins and/or leads of the MCM packages are typically the same dimensions, regardless of the type of signal being conveyed.
The high current densities for high power ICs generally result in heating of the MCM package, which can degrade IC performance. This problem is further exacerbated as the circuit density increases in the controller or high power ICs, resulting in significant heating in the MCM package. Accordingly, as the number of ICs in the MCM package increases, the greater these heating effects will generally be.
Several methods are typically used to address such heating issues. In some cases, cooling devices, such as heat sinks and fans are used to direct heat away from the MCM package to the environment. In other MCM package designs, the ICs are spaced apart on the MCM package surface to improve the thermal characteristics of the system. That is, the ICs are spread out over a larger area to improve heat dissipation. In other MCM packages, the high current signals are divided among several pins to reduce the amount of heating along a particular path in the MCM package. That is, the signal conductors are divided out over a larger area to reduce heating in individual conductors in the MCM package. In yet other MCM packages, improved thermal characteristics are provided by including relatively large metal land patterns on the bottom of the MCM package. Such large land patterns are used to interconnect a high power pad of the IC to a pin or lead of the MCM package while promoting the removal of heat from the MCM package.